New York Yankees

The magic continues. With two outs and no one on base in the top of the 9th, the Yankees rallied to score two runs off Fernando Rodney to force extra innings — and Lyle Overbay gave the Yankees the lead for good in the top of the 11th. With the 4-3 victory, the Bombers improved to a Pythagorean-friendly 9-4 in one-run games (2nd-best one-run record in AL). In contrast, the Rays are now 5-11 in one-run games. Beat you to it, Fernando. - Buy Yankees Tickets

I love the New York Yankees. This is not a secret to anyone who knows me or to any of you but that statement is especially true this season. They are so much fun to watch. Different guys step every day and most of the time it's a guy you wouldn't expect. Case in point, today's hero: Lyle Overbay. The Yankees were down to their final out in the top of the ninth inning against Tampa's closer Fernando Rodney when Overbay worked a walk which ended up being a crucial play because it set up a two-run rally to tie the game. Then, Overbay came to bat two innings later and hit a home run to put the Yankees up 4-3 and help them pick up their 30th victory of the season. Starter Vidal Nuno held his own for six innings. He gave up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Ivan Nova came into the game in the bottom of the 10th and was able to get into and work his way out of a base loaded, one out jame to prevent the Rays from scoring and winning the game. That set the stage for Overbay's 11th inning heroics. Mariano Rivera came in and pitched a 1-2-3 11th inning to pick his 18th save of the season. He's a perfect 18-18 in save attempts. Why is he retiring again? If you had told me in March that the Yankees would be 30-18 on May 25th, I would have laughed in your face. But, they are and they have now won a series in Tampa. After all over the kvetching I did about how much I loathe Tropicana Field and talked about how much I loathe that ballpark, the Yankees have taken the first two games of the series. This is my slogan for the this team. The 2013 Yankees: I don't know what the hell is happening and I definitely can't explain it but I absolutely love it.

When Lyle Overbay walked with two outs in the ninth inning, it didn't look like it would lead to much. The Yankees were down to their last out and their last run had scored eight innings ago. But that walk turned out to be the start of a crazy comeback that gave the Yankees a 4-3 win. Vidal Nuno got the start for the Yankees, and pitched really well. He threw 6 innings, allowing just five hits and one walk. Two of the Tampa Bay runs are credited to him, but when he left the mound, the game was tied at 1. And when he left the mound, it looked like a crazy comeback might not be necessary. But it was. With Matt Moore on the mound, the Yankees' offense got on the board quickly. Brett Gardner led off the game with a double. Two batters later, with Gardner at third having moved up on a Cano ground out, Travis Hafner singled to score Gardner. That gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. Nuno did a great job of keeping the Rays off the board for as long as he could. Through the first four innings, Vidal allowed just two baserunners, with only one of them getting in scoring position. But eventually, the Rays tied the game. With one out in the fifth inning, Jose Molina somehow managed to scoot into second with a double. Two batters later, Desmond Jennings doubled to score Molina, and the game was tied. After another solid inning by Nuno in the sixth, he allowed a lead off single to James Loney to start the seventh. David Adams, who made a couple nice defensive plays earlier in the game, misplayed the ball. Probably could have been ruled an error, but it was credited as a single. That would be it for Vidal, as Girardi went to the bullpen and Shawn Kelley was brought in. Matt Joyce came in and hit a double on a ball that deflected off of Lyle Overbay's glove and into right field. That one also could have been ruled an error, but again it wasn't. With runners at second and third with no outs, Kelly Johnson came to the plate to hit for Molina. Girardi countered with Boone Logan. Johnson singled off the second pitch from Logan, which scored Loney, making it 2-1 Rays. Yunel Escobar was up next. He grounded one to Jayson Nix at short, who decided to throw home and try and get Joyce at the plate. Catcher Austin Romine applied the tag, but the umpire ruled Joyce safe, making it 3-1. It was a close play, and from certain angles Joyce did look out, but he wasn't and the Rays were further ahead. After that Preston Claiborne was brought in, and he got out of the jam without allowing further damage. After wasting a Cano lead off walk in the eighth, the Yankees were down to their last out in the ninth inning. Lyle Overbay drew a walk off of Rays' closer Fernando Rodney to keep the game alive. Brennan Boesch was brought in to pinch hit for Austin Romine. After Overbay moved to second, Boesch doubled to score Lyle, cutting the lead to 3-2. Gardner came to the plate next. Gardner looped a single to center field, which scored Boesch. Seemingly out of nowhere, the game was tied. The Rays very nearly won the game in the bottom of the ninth. David Robertson was brought in to pitch, and gave up a lead off walk to Joyce. Jose Lobaton bunted Joyce over to second, putting the winning run in scoring position. Yunel Escobar was up next, and he hit one into right field. Ichiro made a great sliding catch on the ball. If that ball dropped in for a hit, it mostly likely would've ended the game and given the Rays the win. It didn't and Robertson struck out the next hitter, Jennings, and the game was headed to extras. The Yankees threatened in the tenth, after Robinson Cano led off with a walk, but the heart of the order couldn't bring him home. Ivan Nova came in to pitch the 10th inning for the Yankees. Ryan Roberts led off the inning with a single off Nova. After Luke Scott struck out, Evan Longoria singled off Nova, to put the winning run in scoring position. Nova then walked Ben Zobrist on four pitches, and the bases were

Lyle Overbay homered in the 11th. Brennan Boesch saved the day in the ninth. Ivan Nova pitched out of trouble, Mariano Rivera got another save, and Vidal Nuno gave the Yankees another strong start. I have to hurry down to the clubhouse, but for now, just trust me, this was a wild one. Yankees win 4-3. Going for a series sweep tomorrow. The post Yankees win a wild one appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

(Presswire) Here is your open thread for this chilly evening. Apparently some parts of the Northeast actually got snow today, but thankfully not around here. The Braves and Mets (Minor vs. Gee) are on FOX, though some of you might see Nationals-Phillies (Pettibone vs. Haren) or Cardinals-Dodgers (Gast vs. Lilly) instead. Boo blackouts. There’s also some NBA and NHL playoff action as well — click over to NBC Sports Network to catch the end of the Rangers trying to save their season against the Bruins. Talk about any of that stuff and more here. Have at it. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogSaturday Night Open Thread

Mark Teixeira said that Curtis Granderson’s broken pinkie, eight games back from a rehabilitating a broken arm, was simply cruel.

The injuries never end with the Yankees this year. Just eight games into his return following a broken forearm, Curtis Granderson will head back to the DL this time after he was hit by a pitch and broke his pinky. The Yankees got Ivan Nova back from the DL earlier in the day and it’s almost as if they are only allowed a certain amount of healthy players before another one gets hurt. The Yankees recalled Brennan Boesch to replace Granderson on the roster and optioned Dellin Betances to the minors to make room for Nova. Catcher Chris Stewart, who was not on the DL, returned to the lineup for the first time since May 16. Granderson will be out at least four to six weeks with this injury. He was just shaking off the rust, but it looks like Ichiro Suzuki‘s job will still be safe instead. Nova will not immediately head back to the rotation. David Phelps has pitched well recently and Vidal Nuno will still make his expected start on Saturday. Speaking of Phelps, he took a line drive off his forearm and left Friday’s game early. Afterward Joe Girardi said that x-rays were negative. His next start is in question, but it seems likely that he’ll be able to pitch if nothing is broken. • In unrelated news, the Yankees have claimed lefty David Huff off waivers from Cleveland Indians and have designated lefty Francisco Rondon for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Huff. Huff has been a starter for most of his career. In 288.1 career major league innings he has a 5.40 ERA, a 5.1 K/9 and a 3.1 BB/9. Rondon looked like a decent arm in Spring Training, but he has struggled in Double-A this year with a 7.46 ERA, a 6.9 K/9 and a 6.4 BB/9 in 35 innings. Photo credits: (May 17, 2013 - Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America).

YANKEES (29-18) Brett Gardner CF Robinson Cano 2B Vernon Wells LF Travis Hafner DH David Adams 3B Ichiro Suzuki RF Jayson Nix SS Lyle Overbay 1B Austin Romine C LHP Vidal Nuno (1-1, 1.13) Nuno has never faced any of the Rays RAYS (24-23) Desmond Jennings CF Ryan Roberts 2B Luke Scott DH Evan Longoria 3B Ben Zobrist RF James Loney 1B Sean Rodriguez LF Jose Molina C Yunel Escobar SS LHP Matt Moore (8-0, 2.29) Moore vs. Yankees TIME/TV: 4:10 p.m., YES Network and MLB Network WEATHER: Back under the dome. UMPIRES: HP John Tumpane, 1B Jim Reynolds, 2B James Hoye, 3B John Hirschbeck YOU SHALL NOT PASS: Yankees pitchers have not walked a batter in each of their last two games, the first time they have gone consecutive games without walking a batter since going four straight games in August of 2011. The Yankees last walked a batter in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s loss at Baltimore (Yamaico Navarro by Phil Hughes), a current stretch of 21 innings without walking a batter. They have issued a Major League-low 116 walks this season and are averaging 2.48 walks per nine innings, their lowest mark since 2003 (2.31). BOTTOM’S UP: In last night’s win at Tampa Bay, each of the Yankees last four batters in the lineup (Adams, Overbay, Nix and Stewart) recorded two hits and scored at least one run. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time the starting 6-7-8-9 hitters for the Yankees each had multiple hits in the same game since Ausgust 6, 2009, a 13-6 win vs. Boston (Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, and Melky Cabrera). EIGHT’S ENOUGH: The Yankees are facing a pitcher with a season record of 8-0 or better for the fifth time in the last 40 seasons (since 1974). They have won each of the last two times they have faced a team who’s starting pitcher had a record of 8-0 or better: June 3, 2007 at Fenway Park (6-5 win vs. Josh Beckett who entered 8-0 and got a no decision) and July 14, 2006 against the White Sox (6-5 win vs. Jose Contreras who entered 9-0 and took his first loss). The other two times were June 1, 1994 against the White Sox (5-4 loss vs. Wilson Alvarez who entered 8-0 and got a no decisions) and June 16, 1986 against Boston (10-1 loss vs. Roger Clemens who improved to 12-0). The post Game 48: Yankees at Rays appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

(Dustin Bradford/Getty) Left-hander Matt Moore has some of the nastiest pure stuff in baseball, with the easiest mid-90s velocity you’ll ever see and a breaking ball that both bends and sweeps. So why has Joe Girardi included five left-handed hitters in the lineup against the Tampa southpaw today? Because of his reverse split: AVG OBP SLG BABIP wOBA K% BB% GB% 2013 vs. LHB 0.214 0.313 0.411 0.214 0.320 17.2% 10.9% 40.0% 2013 vs. RHB 0.155 0.261 0.304 0.190 0.257 26.7% 11.8% 34.0% Career vs. LHB 0.232 0.336 0.359 0.232 0.313 17.3% 11.4% 43.4% Career vs. RHB 0.219 0.307 0.372 0.219 0.299 26.0% 10.5% 35.1% So are pitcher platoon splits more important than hitter platoon splits? I don’t know. I guess that’s a case-by-case thing. The Yankees haven’t exactly fared well against left-handers this season — .231/.275/.328 (66 wRC+) — and it’s not like they have a bunch of big righty bats on the bench, so they might as well just run their best hitters out there regardless of handedness. Here’s the lineup that will face Mr. Moore… CF Brett Gardner 2B Robinson Cano LF Vernon Wells DH Travis Hafner 3B David Adams RF Ichiro Suzuki SS Jayson Nix 1B Lyle Overbay C Austin Romine And on the mound is the former Baker University Wildcat, left-hander Vidal Nuno. This afternoon’s game is scheduled to start at 4:10pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy. Roster Move: As expected, the Yankees have officially recalled Brennan Boesch from Triple-A Scranton. He replaces Curtis Granderson, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a fractured left pinky. Injury Updates: David Phelps (forearm) is bruised and sore after being hit by a line drive last night, but he expects to make his next start … Andy Pettitte (trap) came through today’s bullpen session fine, yet there’s still no word on when he’ll pitch in a simulated game … Hiroki Kuroda (calf) threw a bullpen session and felt a little tightness, but he’s still expected to make his next start. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogGame 48: Reverse Split

I'm sorry, I couldn't even come up with a title for this one. I'll admit, I'm still bummed out about Curtis Granderson's hand. The Yankees have the pleasure of facing Matt Moore who has been lights out this season. Did I say pleasure? I mean displeasure. Here are the lineups: YANKEES Gardner CF Cano 2B Wells LF Hafner DH Adams 3B Ichiro RF Nix SS Overbay 1B Romine C Nuno P RAYS Jennings CF Roberts 2B Scott DH Longoria 3B Zobrist RF Loney 1B Rodriguez LF Molina C Escobar SS Moore P